Day 152, September 2, 2012

 I woke up hearing a slamming noise. I opened my eyes and looked around but there was nothing. Then I saw that around the corner there was an auto shop and there was a bunch of noise coming from the guys working in there. When I woke up I noticed my hips didn't feel the usual cramp and tight feeling that I get from sleeping on concrete. The mat I had really made a difference. I was pretty proud of that find.
      I got up and packed my things and then sat on the edge of the concrete and brushed my teeth. I remembered the guy from the night before and wondered if he was there. I had a feeling I wouldn't see him.  I came around the front and looked around and he wasn't there. Even by the benches where he said he was gonna sleep. It was all empty. Maybe he caught a ride? Either way I was happy to just be walking on my own. I hopped on the interstate heading west. It was about 8am.
      I walked a good pace and was rolling along. It was another nice day and I was enjoying the weather. The walk was a steady uphill climb and there were some mountains ahead where I was climbing towards and heading to a ridge I needed to cross over the top of.  I walked about 6 miles when the incline seemed to be a little steeper starting about a half mile ahead. I decided to take a break before starting that. I stopped at the only tree around and still had a little shade before the sun was right overhead.
     I sat on my sleeping bag there and actually wrote a journal while resting. About 10 miles in, a cop car pulled up. He got out and walked over to me. He asked me if I was alright? I said yes, and that I was just taking a break. I asked him if someone called but he said no. And that he was just driving by and saw the stroller. He was really nice and said Goodluck to me.  I left there about 15 minutes after that and climbed the long hill ahead. It was a good distance and I was bent down and really pushing the weight of my cart to get up that slope. After about an hour I made it to the top. It was a long push and I stopped at the top of the hill. I didn't sit, but just stopped to stand there and stretch my back a little.
      I continued after that and walked across the top of the ridge. Once it dropped off it was a steep decline as well. I was holding my cart back and being careful going down. There were some lightening storms off in the distance, but sunny and warm above me. The storms here in Arizona are really something. They will pass right next to you and dump loads of rain, but you will be getting a tan right next to it and clear skies over you.
     During the downhill a truck pulled off in front of me. 4 guys jumped out and came up to me. They knew my name and had followed my walk. They were on their way back from one of the guys bachelor party in Vegas and wanted to stop and see me on their way home. They also brought me some snacks and drinks. By this time I was just about starved and only ate a couple hundred calories for the day. I only had a handful of bars left and just had no appetite for them. They were smashed up and stuff too. So after the guys left I devoured a lunchable they brought me. One of the guys asked me when they stopped "have you found what your looking for in life?". I realized when he said that, that this is it. What I'm doing was what I'm looking for. There's no magic answer. This was what I needed. Being out here and living in the moments I experience. This is living.
      I rolled a long ways down the hill. I got about 19 miles in for the day, and had about 5 miles to go to get to Seligman AZ. I took a little break on a railing for 15 minutes. Then I was ready for the last 5 miles and hoped to get there around sunset.  I rolled into Selegman just as the sun was going down. I got off on the first exit at a truck stop. I went inside and sat down at a subway seating area. There was an outlet and they also had free wifi. When I got online there was a newlywed couple on their honeymoon who were looking for me. They ended up meeting me there about 30 minutes later.
They were staying not to far from Selegman and they brought me a big box of cliff bars. It was a relief at that point realizing that I now actually had enough food to last most of the way from there. It had 90 bars in the box! I could almost make that box stretch the whole way back to the pacific ocean. The guy gave me $20 also and they brought some waters for me!
     I went back in after they left and sat there resting, there was a trucker in there next to me from Bakersfield. We talked a while and he was a really cool dude. He had some really cool thoughts about my journey and he got me pumped up. At about 10pm I was tired. I went out back behind the truck stop and the only spot I really found to sleep was right behind a stone wall next to dumpsters. It actually smelled really bad when I laid down. But it was the only spot around the area. I made my bed on some weeds and fell asleep around 11pm.